§ Lord Harris of Greenwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, following the statement of Lord Glenarthur on 23rd July (Col. 5) that "the uniformed branch (of HM Customs and Excise) was not achieving the results which ought to have been achieved", they will indicate how many of these staff have been redeployed on drugs intelligence work and whether the reduced staff of uniformed officers are now performing their duties satisfactorily.
§ Lord GlenarthurFifty posts have been allocated for this particular purpose, most of which have already been filled by local redeployment of experienced officers, who are being replaced as staff becomes available.
The noble Lord seems to have misinterpreted my remarks on 23rd July, and I am grateful for this opportunity to correct any misunderstanding. The uniformed officers at ports and airports have achieved considerable success and are responsible for most drugs seizures made. including many of the largest of these. The best preventive work relies heavily upon the interchange of intelligence both general and specific between officers engaged on preventive duties and with those employed as investigators and, as a move to increase the gathering of intelligence and further to increase the effectiveness of their preventive efforts, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are forming local intelligence teams for this purpose.